Their families are poor and do not know what IIT is but their sons dream of IIT and working for ISRO and NASA one day. One man is helping them towards their dream. As Bihar goes to the polls, Archana Masih salutes its greatest success story.
In the crazily complex cauldron that is India, where caste, community, class and cash are just the primary ingredients, no one has yet come up with a fool-proof method to ascertain how voters make up their minds, on which button to press, in the privacy of their 'confessional' booths, notes Krishna Prasad.
The top posts on social media from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
"(Former PM) Atal Bihari Vajpayee said 'raj dharma' was not followed in Gujarat (during the 2002 riots). Now, 'raj dharma' is not being followed in case of Andhra Pradesh. We have been denied what was rightfully ours," he claimed.
Suveen Sinha finds out what the tribe of modern, internet entrepreneurs who no longer run their first start-ups are up to.
Maharashtra's beef ban has led to heated arguments on social media, but when a protest against the ban was held in Mumbai, only a few thousands turned up. Perhaps it is easier to outrage online than join an actual protest, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
President Obama's coming visit to India has created quite a buzz, here is a look at all past visits of American Presidents to the country
Son of a daily wage labourer, roadside vendor, taxi driver, private tutor, landless farmer to magazine vendor crack IIT-JEE this year thanks to Bihar's Super 30
Meet the Indo-Germans behind Green Tokri -- a unique business venture -- who grow lettuce on their farm outside Pune and make it available at your doorstep so that you can add this nourishing item to your meals each day.
'Mumbai is very different from the rest of India. It can be ruthless if you don't have work or friends. The struggle time and times of disappointment are horrific and can break you.'
Sarbjit does indeed deal with a story worth telling, but does so in the most obvious and uninspired fashion, writes Raja Sen
'It's a joy working there.' 'It's good work and when you come back it gives you pleasure.' 'On returning you take a shower and look at the day and say, "Ah! Nice scenes we did!"' 'Here sometimes you are doing nothing in the day, but you are there for the shoot.' 'You come home and it can be very frustrating, with that frustration the tiredness does not go, you know.' 'Good work gives you that strength and kick.'
'There are so many schemes announced for the benefit of farmers, women and less privileged sections of our society. But how many of these are being availed of?'
Menstruation is not a disease. Yet, in villages, women die due to poor hygiene during their periods.
He may not be Narendra Modi but Raju Yadav, who once sold tea in Mumbai, has turned his life around, discovers Abhishek Mande-Bhot/Rediff.com.
'We have to find a way out of this confrontational politics.'
In March 2012, UP made Akhilesh Yadav the state's youngest CM. In March 2017, he finds himself in the opposition. At this turning point, we look back at the Samajwadi Party leader's political trajectory.
Can we ask the judges a simple question: You write judgments all the time to protect the judiciary from others. Will you write one on how to save the judiciary from the judges, too, asks Shekhar Gupta.
Ananth Mahadevan takes on the audience.
Asia's oldest and largest cattle fair may soon lose its star attraction.
'Quite the raconteur, much to the dismay of Courtroom 51's CBI Special Judge Jayendra Chandrasen Jagdale, Christopher 'Doglis' Marquis, a Bandra dog-breeder who was Prosecution Witness No 57 and a panch or witness, seemed to move into the witness box with glee, embellishing every answer that he gave to the lawyers' questions with a variety of additional details.' Vaihayasi Pande Daniel reports from the Sheena Bora murder trial.
Back in September 2002, Shakti Bhatt/Rediff.com located the former Union Carbide chairman's luxury home in New York, declared unknown by the American and Indian governments. Rediff.com reproduces the feature about his life in hiding.
Kumar Vishwas was accused by a party volunteer of not dispelling "false rumours" of his having an affair with her, saying it has ruined her reputation.
'These are foods that are very common in the Indian diet... Naan, chapatti, rice...' 'Those processed carbohydrates are far worse for body weight and heart health than the fats they replaced.' 'The problem with these foods is that even if there isn't any obvious sugar in them, they turn to sugar very quickly.'
'I was actually appointed captain for the West Indies tour (in 1971).' 'But Mr Vijay Merchant (the then chairman of the selectors) didn't like me nor did he like 'Tiger' Pataudi. He thought we were far too flamboyant.' 'He made Ajit Wadekar captain.'
In one village, a woman asks, "They are always showing cash seizures on television, you think some of it will escape and we will get money as usual?" "Only 1 percent of cash is actually seized, the rest has arrived, you don't worry," a party worker assures her. Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar reports on the election in the southern-most tip of the country.
Stay ahead of the game; learn the tricks from Ecom king Jack Ma.
Incoming US President Donald Trump has assembled a core team that is -- not surprisingly -- overwhelmingly white and male.
Rediff.com presents the gist of the speech delivered by Mr. Kailash Satyarthi on the Foundation Day of Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh.
'Don't let anybody tell you that Kadvi Hawa is a manifesto for the fight against climate change or that it's an austere, unforgiving movie.' 'This is an intensely felt, beautifully expressed piece of cinema,' says Sreehari Nair.
Bajirao, an unorthodox leader, faced much opposition during his lifetime from the Brahmins of Pune. In the last hundred years or so, he has been ignored due to caste politics in Maharashtra where he has become a 'non person' for having been born a Brahmin, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'In Carol, Cate Blanchett reminds us what a real movie star is and why we are enamored by her acting and looks.'
'If the RSS should be saluted for choosing such a scholarly statesman to address its highly trained cadre, one must also praise Pranab Da's sagacity for having gracefully accepting the invitation, thus disapproving any ideological apartheid,' says former BJP MP Tarun Vijay.
The petite princess is the newest catch of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The glamorous Rajkumari of Jaipur Diya Kumari is the third princess to join the saffron brigade.
A Muslim man taking a PhD in a dance form is not unusual, but it becomes interesting when the dance happens to be Mohiniyattam, says Shobha Warrier
Misa Bharati is fighting to win back Patliputra, the seat her father lost in 2009, in a contest that is a do-or-die battle for Lalu Yadav and the RJD.
'Ne Win kept good relations with the Nehru family even though he did nothing to do business with India. When Indira Gandhi was assassinated, Ne Win took off to an undisclosed destination, leading to rumours that he had gone to India. But we had no knowledge of his visit and days later, we were told that he was so struck with grief that he went into meditation on an island.' Ambassador T P Sreenivasan delves into Rajiv Bhatia's new book on mysterious Myanmar.
'Live a healthy lifestyle. Like what our parents taught us. Like our parents' parents taught them.' 'We become obese. In obesity the chance of cancer increases.' 'Any new symptom? Please talk to your doctor. Some screening test might need to be done.'
'Asked which Dilip Kumar films were among her favourites, she said she had seen not a single movie of his until that time. This became a sensational issue. She did not mean to offend Dilip Kumar. There was not a bone of diplomacy in her and she never acquired that calculating attitude even at the cost of some of the roles that she would eventually lose.'
Few Harvard graduates are changing the way we teach students.
